Single board computer deployed on International Space Station!

GE Energy Management’s Intelligent Platforms tells us that  its CR11 single board computer (SBC) has been successfully deployed and is fully operational onboard the International Space Station (ISS) as part of the continuing experiments by the European Space Agency (ESA) taking place way above the earth.

PK-4 Commissioning Experiment in June 2015 (Pic: NASA/ESA)

The CR11 is at the heart of the supporting infrastructure of ESA’s Plasma Kristall-4 (PK-4) research missions. Two CR11s are integrated in the Control & Video Unit which was installed within a host rack known as the European Physiology Module (EPM). At the beginning of June 2015, the one week commissioning experiment session was successfully performed.

It is a permanent installation by ESA within the European Columbus research module onboard the ISS,  designed to conduct experiments on the complex plasmas in space. Plasma is the fourth state of matter after solid, liquid and gaseous. In space, more than 99 per cent of visible material (e.g. stars, clouds of gas and so on) is made up of this fourth state of matter.

For PK-4, the CR11s are utilized to execute the scientific script, record high volumes of video (130 Mbytes/sec) and housekeeping data, and display experiment video.

“This is a great example of what GE Rugged is all about,” said Chris Lever, General Manager, Embedded at GE’s Intelligent Platforms business. “Whether it’s in the harsh environment of a heavy manufacturing facility, a railroad locomotive, onboard an armored vehicle – or, as it is here, out in space – GE’s solutions are designed to operate with absolute reliability wherever they are deployed, in whatever conditions. It’s excellent to have the opportunity, through the great work that OHB is doing with the International Space Station, to demonstrate again what GE Rugged really means.”

The CR11 joins another GE solution on board the International Space Station. In 2010, Goodrich Corporation created a custom version of the NETernity™ RM924RC Ethernet switch, and a number of these now play a key role as part of the network control system of the onboard iPEHG (improved Payload Ethernet Gateway).

The CR11 is a 6U, CompactPCI single board computer featuring an Intel® Core™ Duo Processor. It is specifically designed to withstand the rigors of deployment in the harshest environments – like the International Space Station. It is optionally available with conduction cooling and extended temperature range of -40° to +80° C, while increased shock and vibration immunity is designed in by using optional stiffener bars and wedge locks. Other typical applications include factory automation, simulation/training, test and measurement etc.

• The International Space Station is a joint project among five participating space agencies - NASA, Roscosmos, JAXA, ESA, and CSA – and was launched in 1998. It has been continuously occupied since 2000. The largest artificial body in orbit – at 400 kilometres/250 miles  - it serves as a microgravity and space environment research laboratory in which crew members conduct experiments in biology, human biology, physics, astronomy, meteorology and other fields.

Rugged single board computer.

GE Energy Management’s Intelligent Platforms has announced the SBC347A rugged 3U OpenVPX single board computer (SBC). Based on the latest ‘Broadwell’ processor technology from Intel®, it delivers higher performance and greater functionality than previous generations of SBC while maintaining the same power envelope. The SBC374A is the first in a number of Broadwell-based products that GE plans to introduce.

The new SBC is designed for demanding applications in harsh, SWaP (size, weight and power) constrained military environments such as manned and unmanned vehicles, signal processing in ISR (intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance), sonar, radar, and command/control, as well as the most challenging applications in industry such as energy exploration and transportation.

The SBC374A benefits from two channels of 10Gbase-T connectivity, giving it 10x the Ethernet capability of earlier SBCs. This enables customers upgrading from previous generations of GE’s 3U OpenVPX Intel-based platforms to benefit from substantially enhanced connectivity on the Control Plane without needing to undertake disruptive, expensive infrastructure changes.

In line with GE’s commitment to maximizing long term customer value and return on investment, the SBC374A provides a simple, form/fit/function pin-compatible upgrade path.

The latest Intel Core i7 quad core processor, operating at up to 2.7GHz, can deliver as much as 15% greater CPU performance and 30% greater 3D graphics performance compared with its predecessors. The SBC374A supports up to 16GBytes of soldered ECC memory, and provides the exceptional on-board and off-board bandwidth needed by today’s sophisticated applications with its support for PCI Express® Gen3 technology and USB3.0.

“With the announcement of the SBC374A, GE is again in the forefront of responding to customer demand for rugged embedded computing solutions that deliver unprecedented performance and flexibility, yet are compact, lightweight and consume minimal power,” said Richard Kirk, Director of Core Computing at GE’s Intelligent Platforms business. “It is also yet another example of our continuing commitment to enabling our customers to take advantage of the power of the latest Intel technology.”

The SBC374A is available in five build levels, from benign environment (air cooled) to fully rugged (conduction cooled), and supports Microsoft® Windows, Open Linux® and VxWorks®. It benefits from support by both GE’s AXIS Advanced Multiprocessor Integrated Software development environment that minimizes program risk and speeds time to market, and from GE’s industry-leading Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) programs that are designed to maximize the long term value of customer investments.

Fieldbus hosts

Emerson and General Electric hosts pass tests for support of NAMUR NE107 field diagnostics

The Fieldbus Foundation has registered the first two FOUNDATION™ fieldbus hosts incorporating new, mandatory host profile “61b.” Fieldbus hosts supplied by Emerson Process Management (DeltaV Digital Automation System, with AMS Suite: Intelligent Device Manager) and GE Energy (GE ControlST) passed tests verifying their support for NAMUR NE107 field diagnostics, which is now required as part of the second phase of host testing and registration.

registered FOUNDATION hosts

In the FOUNDATION fieldbus automation infrastructure, hosts can include configuration tools, recording devices, alarm display panels, human-machine interfaces (HMIs), or a combination of functionality. Host profiles are key to fieldbus system interoperability, defining required features for different classes of tested and registered hosts. They include: Class 61 – Integrated Host, Class 62 – Visitor Host, Class 63 – Bench Host Non-Commissioned Device, and Class 64 – Bench Host Commissioned Off-Line Device.

The following host features have gone from "optional" to "mandatory" with the new host profile 61b:

Block Instantiation – Allows full utilization of fieldbus devices supporting instantiable function blocks. Primarily intended for control in the field (CIF).


Multiple Capability Levels – For devices where certain blocks/features are optional (licensed), the standard or higher capability level can be set in the tag placeholder during system configuration to prevent unsupported blocks from being used in the control strategy. This prevents surprises during commissioning. It also makes device replacement easier.

Enhanced Function Blocks – Allows full utilization of enhanced blocks (standard blocks with additional parameters).


Profiled Custom Function Blocks – Allows full utilization of non-standard blocks.


Configuration of Scheduled Control Function Blocks – Allows developers to build CIF control strategies.


DD V5.1 Device-Level Access (enhanced Electronic Device Description Language with cross-block) – Makes fieldbus devices easier to use by enabling a dashboard with all diagnostics on the same page, and all setup on one page, regardless of which block it is in.

According to Fieldbus Foundation Director, Fieldbus Products, Stephen Mitschke, the registration of hosts supporting host profile 61b will improve the user experience at sites employing FOUNDATION fieldbus-based control systems. “Support for device-level menus, one of the additional features mandated by host profile 61b, will make it easier for users to configure and maintain fieldbus devices,” he said “In addition, registered hosts must now demonstrate the ability to configure field diagnostics in devices. An enhanced, structured view of diagnostics according to NE107 contributes to effective asset management.”

Emerson’s chief technology officer, Peter Zornio, commented, “With this registration, Emerson reaffirms its leadership in FOUNDATION fieldbus technology, and will drive further growth. A best-in-class FOUNDATION fieldbus solution is a key part of Emerson’s I/O on Demand offering to our customers, allowing them to choose the best I/O solution for each of their applications. In fact, five out of ten of our largest DeltaV systems on order right now are using FOUNDATION fieldbus technology.”

Using the power of FOUNDATION fieldbus, and considering the NE107 recommendations for field diagnostics, the Fieldbus Foundation developed a profile specification enhancing the organization, integration and presentation of device diagnostics within fieldbus systems. The FOUNDATION fieldbus diagnostic profile includes a standard and open interface for reporting all device alarm conditions, and provides a means of categorizing alert conditions by severity. The technology facilitates routing of alerts to appropriate consoles based on user-selectable severity categories. In other words, it sends the right information to the right person at the right time without flooding the operator with alarms that are irrelevant to his duties. Furthermore, it provides recommended corrective actions and detailed help, as well as an indication of the overall health of the device.

Turbomachinery controls upgrade in UAR

First phase commissioning completed during short outage

The Bu Hasa NGL Extraction Plant, operated by Abu Dhabi Gas Industries Ltd. (GASCO), produces 7200 tons per day of NGL that is pumped to the Ruwais Plant. As part of the Bu Hasa Upgrading Project (HUP) to improve processing capacity while maintaining a high NGL recovery, GASCO is upgrading the turbine and compressor controls of its existing Woodward NetCon® control systems on six Rolls-Royce Avon gas turbines. The upgrade is replacing the obsolete control systems for NGL Trains 1 and 2 and is improving plant operations through advanced integrated turbine and compressor control using GE's Mark™ VIe platform and OptiComp™ Integrated Compressor Control Suite software.

Following careful technical and commercial evaluation, GASCO and the EPC determined that GE Energy's Control Solutions offering was the best platform to meet the challenges of the Rolls-Royce Avon turbine control. GE met GASCO's specifications, primarily integrated turbine compressor control and fast application execution speed requirements, with the most cost-effective solution.

OptiComp™ is GE Energy's integrated turbine and compressor control solution that delivers advanced compressor surge control, process performance control, load sharing/balancing, auto sequencing and other auxiliary control functions. It offers superior control software running in GE's fast and reliable Mark™ VI and Mark™ VIe control platforms.

Six Mark™ VIe control panels were supplied for the Rolls-Royce turbines and process compressors, along with redundant network and communications interfaces to third party equipment and plant DCS. To help recover lost time, GE was tasked with shipping three of the control panels for Train 2 within 12 weeks. The Train 2 units were commissioned during an extremely tight 9 day outage. A successful, smooth start-up was achieved the week of November 12, 2010.

The control platform provides tight integration of turbine and compressor controls utilizing GE's proven application experience in the control of Rolls-Royce units as well as advanced patented compressor surge and process control algorithms. The seamless integration of turbine and compressor controls provides ease of operation, decoupling of control loops, and improved coordinate response to process disturbances. It also brings life cycle benefits for both operations and maintenance by providing a single focal point for support and parts management.

This is the latest of several GASCO controls upgrade projects awarded to GE Energy's Control Solutions business and is the second upgrade order for Rolls-Royce turbine controls following the successful GASCO Ruwais upgrade 3 years ago. The first phase of the Bu Hasa Project (Train 2) was completed the week of November 12, 2010; the units are online and have been running in stable operation since commissioning. The second phase (Train 1) will be implemented in Q2, 2011.

condition monitoring software upgrade.

The industry-leading System 1 software suite now has Lubrication Analysis Data Import package

GE's Bently Nevada business announces the latest version of the industry-leading condition monitoring software, System 1 6.7.   This latest version supports current Microsoft platforms and enables migration and modernization of System 1 to streamline technology maintenance costs. It also provides a consolidation of condition monitoring platforms by providing lubricant analysis data import that strengthens diagnostic and predictive health capabilities within your reliability centered maintenance program for smarter plant operations.

System 1 6.7 allows customers to migrate to the latest PC/server hardware platforms, Microsoft OS and SQL platforms allowing streamlined security and IT platform management across the network.  This efficiency allows customers to better understand equipment health and more effectively manage System 1 for optimal efficiency, production and emissions.

The addition of the lubricant analysis data management system eliminates the need for paper reports that are to trend manually making it difficult to establish a normal baseline and identify assets entering a failure mode.  The lubricant analysis data import application package allows users to streamline data trending to easily identify if an asset condition is changing.  The system also allows users to identify correlation of lubricant analysis data with other condition monitoring and process data to help identify a failure mode.  System 1 alarm and alert configurations and Decision Support Rules allow users to automate analysis and alerts sent to maintenance staff and DCS Operators so that quick action can be taken as soon as the health of an important asset changes.

Turbine control migration solution

For decades, companies have depended on GE's Mark™ IV and V series of turbine controls for exceptional performance and reliability. With systems approaching 30 years of continuous service, users now seek to modernize their systems to address obsolescence and take advantage of the many GE offerings to further improve turbine performance, operability, and availability. With tight budgets and short timelines, companies are looking for optimal value. At the 7EA Users Group Annual Conference (26 - 28 October, Memphis, TN US), GE will showcase Mark IV and Mark V control migration solutions at the Vendor Fair on the evening of the 27th October.

To minimize risk, cost, and downtime, GE's migrations upgrade Mark IV and Mark V Control systems to the latest Mark VIe through replacement of critical and obsolete technology only.  All existing turbine devices and wiring terminations remain.

Upgrading to the Mark VIe system provides increased computing power, which enables many new features and algorithms for new turbine functions, such as advanced Dry Low NOx systems and operational flexibility (OpFlex™) enhancements. OpFlex is a suite of software solutions that increases user flexibility, speed and efficiency in turbine control. This upgrade provides a complete modernization of operator stations and networks to current technology. Additional upgrade features and benefits include:

• Minimized Cost & Installation Time: Eliminates the need for new field terminations and turbine devices, reducing downtime.
• Elimination of Out-of-Production Technologies: Solves the problem of difficult-to-obtain spare parts.
• Enhanced Operability: Fully distributable and scalable system offers ease of operation with improved graphics, alarm/event management, trending, and more. Up-to-date I/O capability allows adding and distributing Mark VIe I/O blocks - locally or remotely - and communication via modern, high-speed networks at all levels with Ethernet client/server capability.
• Increased Communications Availability: Provides redundant communications within the control and options for network redundancy between controls and HMIs.
• More Efficient Maintenance: One, modern software tool configures networks, processors, and I/O boards, along with editors, block libraries, and diagnostics.
• Enhanced Compatibility: Compatible with current programs for compliance with cyber security standards, maintenance programs, and remote monitoring and diagnostics.
• Plant-Wide Integration: Complete unit network integration with other Mark VI, Mark VIe, and EX2100 systems used for turbine control, plant control (DCS), generator control, and safety systems. Integration with 3rd party plant DCS systems is also standard.

Above all, this upgrade gives plants a clear path for future enhancements and life cycle support, allowing increased reliability, stability, and operational flexibility of the plant's turbine generator. In addition, this provides an opportunity to install an EX2100 digital front end during the same short outage to modernize aging generator excitation controls.

Power station has Triple-Redundant Mark™ VIe DCS on nuclear turbine generator

NextEra Energy Seabrook Station is just 50 miles north of Boston (MA US) on the New Hampshire coast. The total plant output is 31,200 megawatt-hours per day.

Benefits of the Mark™ VIe TMR digital control:
• Reduced maintenance, costs, and downtime
• Increased mean time between failures (MTBF)
• Modern maintenance tools and diagnostics for troubleshooting in real-time

GE Energy has been a partner with the Seabrook Station since 1987. Most recently, the plant upgraded its turbine control system to the Mark™ VIe Triple Modular Redundant (TMR).This modification makes the turbine generator more reliable and easier to maintain, reducing the number of forced outages and power reductions.

The end result of this upgrade is that it makes existing power generation and delivery systems more reliable, thereby reducing the overall cost to produce power.

GE Energy supplied all control equipment, engineering, drawings, technical direction, start-up, and commissioning for the new turbine control system. The scope also included a simulation trainer for the equipment supplied, on-site training, and spare parts.

The new Mark VIe TMR digital control system replaced the old analog system and provides a road map for maintainability into the future. The Mark VIe TMR eliminates single points of failure with mechanical devices in the Front and Mid Standards by modifying speed picks, trip interface, and thrust. The upgrade includes trip reduction software, which eliminates the need for online overspeed testing. System redundancies also further eliminate single points of vulnerability and reduce downtime.

Hydro system in Brazil

GE Energy Signs Contract for first Mark™ VIe Hydro Integrated Control System in Brazil at AES Caconde

GE Energy's Control Solutions business has signed a contract for the first Mark™ VIe Hydro Integrated Control System to be installed in Brazil. The equipment will be installed in the AES Caconde Hydro Plant to control two 50 MW hydro turbine-generators and all the plant auxiliaries. The total order for Energy Services is $11M for complete power plant refurbishment.

Turbine and generator rework will be performed by GEVISA, GE Motors operation in Brazil. The project scope includes updating Mark VIe cabinets for unit and station control. The installation includes new pump sets for the existing hydraulic pressure system, new FC5000 distributing valves to replace the existing actuators, EX2100 warm-backup static exciters with Power Potential Transformers, Generator Protection Panels, and a Surveillance System. Engineering, installation, commissioning, and training services are part of the scope as well, making this a full turn-key project.

The GE Energy Latin America team is to lead the execution of the project. Design, fabrication and testing will take place at the Campinas Facility, which is located inside the GEVISA Industrial Facility. This partnership between GEVISA and GE Energy creates an important reference in the marketplace and opens the doors for GE Energy Services to participate in the very active Brazilian hydro plant refurbishment market.

Benefits of GE's Mark™ VIe Hydro Integrated Control System:

• Lower maintenance costs - Replacing mechanical components with digital controls simplifies the hydraulic control schematic and makes the system easier to maintain.
  
• Fast turnaround - By drawing on vast hydropower experience, time-consuming and costly pitfalls such as onsite redesign and modifications are avoided during upgrades. As a result, units are back online sooner.
  
• Increased revenues - Faster start-ups, with faster connection to the grid, increase revenue earning potential with higher profit margins.

Wind turbine monitoring

Bently Nevada™ ADAPT™.wind condition-based monitoring decreases downtime, reduces cost, and improves reliability

With a massive fleet of wind turbines coming off warranty and an anticipated installed-base growth of 475% over the next 5 years, companies are adopting condition-based maintenance (CBM) strategies to decrease down time, reduce cost, and improve reliability. CBM in wind turbines, like in combustion and steam turbines and generators, is the process of monitoring the condition of machinery, scheduling maintenance, and avoiding failures. This solution already has over 700 units in the order and installation process.

Wind farms are exposed to some unique challenges. Change of wind speeds, load conditions, and environmental conditions all contribute to the complexity of operating wind turbines. In addition, wind farms are spread out over acres or even across miles, and the gearboxes are located several hundred feet into the air. This makes it difficult for a technician to predict or diagnose an issue with the turbine. Advanced condition monitoring techniques and experience are critical to reliably monitor the wind asset.

One integrated condition-based monitoring system, Bently Nevada™ Advanced Distributed Architecture Platform Technology (ADAPT™.wind) from GE, enables operators to understand the condition of the asset without having to physically examine the machinery. By utilizing the intelligence of the system, operators can understand the severity of the defect, make corrections, and continue to generate revenue if the defect is insignificant.

ADAPT.wind CBM also allows operators to plan for maintenance, coordinate outages for closely clustered units, and proactively monitor units with anomalies, instead of running to failure or tripping the unit on an anomaly. Being able to understand the condition and health of the wind farm’s machinery, an operator can consolidate maintenance for one time and schedule one crane, realizing hundreds of thousands of dollars in savings.

The ADAPT.wind software is the standard condition monitoring solution on GE’s wind turbine units and can be readily deployed on most manufacturers’ equipment.

Power station control upgrade

Santee Cooper Modernizes its Winyah Station with GE Energy’s Mark™ VIe TMR Digital Control System

Benefits of the Mark™ VIe TMR digital control: •Reduced maintenance, costs, and downtime •Increased mean time between failures (MTBF) •Modern maintenance tools and diagnostics for troubleshooting in real-time •Remote monitoring capability to reduce time spent manually monitoring

Located between Myrtle Beach and Charleston in the US, South Carolina’s Santee Cooper Winyah Generating Station has been working with GE Energy to modernize and upgrade their Westinghouse Control System with their most advanced digital control system for turbines, the Mark™ VIe Triple Modular Redundant (TMR).

Santee Cooper is South Carolina's state-owned electric and water utility and is the largest power provider in the state. It utilizes a diverse fuel and energy supply of coal, nuclear, oil, gas, hydro, and renewables to directly serve more than 165,000 residential and commercial customers in Berkeley, Georgetown, and Horry counties. Santee Cooper also supplies power indirectly to all 46 counties of the state (through wholesale customers).

When it was built, Winyah was Santee Cooper's most ambitious generating project. Units 3 and 4 at this site were the first in the Southeast to have "scrubbers," which help hold down emissions into the environment.

The existing Westinghouse EHC control system on the Winyah plant’s Unit #4 steam turbine generator is being migrated to a Mark VIe TMR control system. This is the first Mark VIe Control System to replace an existing Westinghouse Control System, although GE has been working to modernize other systems at Santee Cooper, including the June 9, 2010 replacement of a Mark II with a Mark VI at Cross Station.

The Mark VIe TMR is a custom-programmed, expandable, digital control system. It will be mounted and prewired in new cabinetry, then installed. The Mark VIe TMR is the latest turbine control system from GE's Control Solutions business. It provides modules for interfacing with nearly every type of sensor on the market today.

This modernization will extend the life of the Winyah plant and improve the equipment reliability, reducing downtime and expensive maintenance. It also provides Santee Cooper the opportunity to improve their existing turbine control with the addition of modern instrumentation as well as more robust and precise control of the equipment.

The base scope of the Westinghouse conversion includes a Mark VIe TMR Cabinet, 2 HMIs with 4 network switches, a primary emergency overspeed kit, Watt/VAR transducer, a factory acceptance test, on-site training, and on-site technical direction.

Relief valve leak detection

Pressure Relief Valves (PRVs) are used extensively in oil refineries, chemical plants, pipelines, power plants, and other industrial applications as part of pressure-relieving systems to protect piping, boilers, vessels, and other pressurized assets from dangerous over-pressure conditions. To help users ensure that these systems are supplied in accordance with recognized good engineering practices, a number of industry-specific standards exist. For example, American Petroleum Institute standards API 521 (ISO 23251), API 526, and RP 520 all deal specifically with PRVs and pressure-relieving systems as used in the petroleum industries.

PRVs are particularly susceptible to leaks and the consequences of such leaks can be serious:

• Dangerous operating conditions, increasing the risk to plant and personnel
  
• Damage to the environment
  
• Regulatory fines/penalties
  
• Negative public image/reputation
  
• Reduced process efficiency and profitability
  
• Loss of raw, intermediate, or finished materials

While most companies expend considerable resources to detect and mitigate leaks, usually in the form of routine inspection or observation regimens, current approaches have not proven entirely effective, and PRV leaks remain a significant challenge for industry. Additionally, PRVs are frequently subjected to unneces¬sary maintenance. This occurs when a leak cannot be confirmed, but to err on the side of caution, preventive repairs, replacements, or overhauls are carried out “just in case.” This can drive the relative maintenance costs for PRVs very high.

Cost-effective and reliable online technology is now available to monitor critical PRVs for the presence of leaks. An online approach means that leaks are caught within minutes, incident severity (and associated consequences) is minimized, and costly routine inspection regimens are eliminated.

GE’s PRV Leak Detection System uses the Bently Nevada Trendmaster™ Pro architecture to gather periodic, online temperature and acoustic measurements and automatically analyze them in System 1™ software. By using both temperature and acoustic measurements in complementary fashion, more reliable detection is available than when using either technology alone. These measurements are then processed through a special RulePak in System 1 software’s decision support engine. This RulePak contains sophisticated, embedded knowledge of PRV leak behavior, automatically detecting the presence of a leak.

Offshore predictive emissions monitoring

GE Energy introduces PEMS solution for offshore platforms at one-third the cost of similar-accuracy CEMS

Emerging legislation will soon require European offshore operators to monitor and report gas turbine emissions, with numerous other countries expected to follow suit. In the past, offshore platforms relied primarily on tem porary instrumentation to perform as-needed emissions estimates. However, this approach lacks the necessary models to extend results to other operating regimes and ambient conditions. As such, there are today only two viable options for compliance with regulations requiring higher accuracy: a Continuous Emissions Monitoring System (CEMS) or a Predictive Emissions Monitoring System (PEMS).

While a CEMS affords many advantages, including continuous and direct measurement of emissions, its capabilities may exceed the requirements of offshore operators.

A PEMS approach, in contrast, can approach the accuracy of a CEMS for as little as one-third the cost while adequately meeting the specific needs of offshore operators. Fortunately, such a PEMS solution is now available for the large installed base of GE LM2500 SAC aeroderivative gas turbines used in offshore service, and is easily extensible to LM6000 SAC units.

GE's PEMS solution (GE Energy) is implemented in System 1™ software and requires the following:

• System 1 software, version 5.x or later
  
• Bently PERFORMANCE™ System Extender module
  
• PEMS configuration, tuning, and installation services

For users with existing System 1 and Bently PERFORMANCE software installations, the PEMS option is a simple add-on module. In most cases, it can even be installed remotely from an onshore location.

The PEMS module employs a GE-developed "first principles" emissions model for the LM2500 SAC gas turbine. This physics-based model uses fundamental engine parameters and conditions known to correlate to emissions output, drawing on extensive test results from the large installed base of LM2500 SAC units. It uses ambient conditions, various turbine operating param eters, and fuel properties as inputs and is valid for both gas and diesel fuels. The model computes emissions estimates for NOX, CO, and unburned hydrocarbons, while providing calculated values for CO2 and SO2. A calibration feature allows customization to a specific

Compliance with cyber security laws

New program allows plants to comply with mandatory cyber-security regulations

As a critical component of a control system, a Human Machine Interface (HMI) requires the best and most up-to-date security software protection to preserve the system’s functionality and the integrity of its data. GE Energy’s HMI Cyber Asset Protection (HMI CAP) program for all Windows-based HMIs keeps operator stations, maintenance stations, and communications operating at peak performance. It also helps plants comply with mandatory cyber-security regulations including the current North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC), European Network and Information Security Agency (ENISA) regulations, and emerging global cyber-security regulations.

The HMI CAP Program maintains all installed performance and security software at the most current GE standards. Protecting HMIs with up-to-date security software is essential for preserving system functionality and data integrity. Empowering operators with faster access to critical data and diagnostic alerts improves response time, which can result in reduced down time and increased availability.

The HMI CAP Program includes Catastrophic Data Loss protection and recovery tools to meet the commercial and regulatory needs of complete data recovery. Frequent back up of customized HMI configurations lessens the impact of viruses and helps you avoid unexpected disruptions in business. In addition, when customers enroll in the HMI CAP Program, they receive an extended warranty on all covered equipment. Under this warranty, GE will repair or replace equipment in the event of a catastrophic failure.

All security updates undergo validation and rigorous testing to ensure compatibility with your site or fleet-specific HMI environment.

Corrosion/erosion monitoring

In the oil and gas industry alone, corrosion- and erosion-related losses total billions of dollars every year through unscheduled plant or pipeline shutdowns, lost production, high repair costs, and imposed fines. In addition, incalculable damage can result from potential employee injuries and the effect of spillage on an organization’s reputation.

In industries where the integrity of piping, vessels, and other fixed assets can be compromised by corrosion or erosion, the consequences of failure can be both serious and costly. Historically, time-based, manual inspection methods have been employed to mitigate these risks; unfortunately, this is a very costly approach, frequently involving excavation, scaffolding, special permits, and other expenses. As a result, the annual maintenance costs for assets relying on manual inspection methods are among the highest in the operation.

GE’s Rightrax® system (from GE Energy) reduces these problems using innovative online technology to end costly, time-based inspections while simultaneously providing better, more timely, and more frequent corro­sion/erosion information that dramatically decreases the risk of asset failure. With ROI for the Rightrax system typically less than a year, the economics of going online are compelling. With support for the Rightrax system now available in GE’s System 1® Software, going online is easier and more powerful.

The system uses non-invasive, ultra­sonic sensing technology that attaches to the outside of the asset and measures wall thickness. Rightrax sensors can be polled periodically, allowing users to assess not only useful life remaining by comparing current values to minimum thickness limits, but to establish historical trends. This ability to trend data sets it apart from even the most frequent manual inspection regimens. The benefits are two-fold:

First, users can understand the rate at which corrosion/erosion is progressing, allowing better maintenance planning. Second, users can correlate Rightrax data with process data, providing powerful insight into cause-effect relationships that can help operators understand and avoid the conditions that accelerate corrosion/erosion rates and corresponding asset degradation.

Second, integration provides Rightrax users with all the powerful capabilities native to System 1 software for displaying, trending, analyzing, plotting, and correlating data. It provides powerful import/export functionality for integration with reporting tools and programs, such as Crystal Reports® and Microsoft® Excel®. What sets the power of the System 1 environment apart is its decision support technology: powerful automa­tion capabilities that can automatically analyze data using sophisticated, user-written rules and embedded knowledge. When specific conditions or anomalies of an unknown origin are detected, the system can send intelligent advisories to appropriate personnel.